Boulder to keep fees at open space trailheads

City may eventually charge nonresidents for parking at all open space sites

Jill Pyatt, of Boulder, ?loads her dog, Georgie, after a hike Tuesday at the South Mesa Trail in Boulder. Out-of-county residents will continue to be charged to park at some Open Space and Mountain Parks trailheads.
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JESSICA CUNEO
)

Boulder will continue to charge out-of-county residents to park at some Open Space and Mountain Parks trailheads, and City Council members expect the city will charge more for all open space use in the future.

The Boulder City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to maintain what had been a pilot program to charge non-Boulder County residents to park at Flatirons Vista, Doudy Draw and South Mesa trailheads. The council rejected a recommendation from the open space staff that the fee program be discontinued and replaced with a voluntary contribution.

Open space staff members said the parking fee program aimed to reduce parking congestion by encouraging people to walk or bike to open space areas and to ensure non-county residents were contributing to the maintenance of open space, which is funded through city sales taxes. They estimate the percentage of sales tax revenue paid by non-county residents is roughly equivalent to the percentage of open space visitors who come from outside the county.

However, City Council members said people who visit Boulder to shop on the Pearl Street Mall aren't necessarily the same people who use open space.

"We really don't have the right data to make the analysis you want to make," Councilwoman Suzy Ageton said. "That group is different than the group we want to know about, which is visitors to our southern trailheads, not people surveyed on the Pearl Street Mall."

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Councilwoman Lisa Morzel described seeing people drive in from Jefferson County to use open space and then drive back without going into the city.

"This is a fairness thing," she said of continuing to collect the parking fee.

The fee is $5, and an annual pass costs $25.

Boulder Mayor Matt Appelbaum said the city needs more revenue to maintain its open space system, which is much larger than those of other cities in the region, and eventually will need to charge at all sites.

"If you look at state parks, nobody worries about that," he said. "You have to pay, even though you already paid (through taxes)."

The city has charged fees for Flagstaff Mountain and Gregory Canyon for years.

City Council members said they are open to reconsidering the parking fee in the future, but many favored eventually expanding parking fees to other open space sites and other users.

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